


i feel you stand beside me

by addledAuthor (Liamchip)



Category: Homestuck
Genre: M/M, Slow Burn, demonstuck au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 17:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16392371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Liamchip/pseuds/addledAuthor
Summary: have this :0 will try to update weekly





	i feel you stand beside me

You didn’t mean to break into the bank. It just kind of happened. 

You saw a couple of people with masks head inside, so you followed them silently, stealthily as you waited for a chance. You slowly start to take the robbers-- at least, you assumed they were robbers,-- out, with well-placed throat jabs and by using your tail to suffocate them. Your name is Dave Strider, and you are a demon. But, you weren’t always a demon. You were once a hero. And you’re not gonna let the curse change you into something you’re not. Up ahead, you can hear a phone ring. You don’t pay it too much heed, instead following the robbers and continuing to knock them out one by one, even as the sound of sirens starts to reach your ears. The main crew, the ones that weren’t lookouts, had reached the vault, and they had explosives all over it, ready to detonate. You curse and stay back, covering your ears in an attempt to keep yourself from going deaf if-- when-- they set them off. The room shakes, and a wave of heat washes over you as the sound of an explosion rocks your body. You can feel the cops rushing in behind you, your back exposed and completely defenseless as they train their weapons on you.  
You kneel with your hands over your head. The sound of the sirens and the sound of burning fire fills your ears. The cops, the good guys, surround you, their guns trained on you. They’re scared of you, you can tell. And you don’t blame them. You’re a monster. Literally. You smirk slightly, tilting your head to the side. You eye the cop behind you. Your tail lashes out and strikes him in the chest, knocking him back into a wall. The others all open fire as you quickly dive for the feet of the cops in front of you. You dig your claws into their ankles, feeling them break skin as you pull, knocking them onto their backs. The last two are starting to back up to the doorway, one of them pulling out a radio. Well, that just won’t do. You grab one of their guns-- who said that demons had to be old-fashioned?-- and shot the radio out of his hands. 

They both quickly drop their weapons, and you advance, knocking them out with two well-placed punches. Sometimes you scare yourself with how good you are. You never mean to kill, and you haven’t killed anyone yet. But the curse that you had received was slowly growing stronger and may soon overtake you. You only hope that you figure out how to break it before then. The rush of power was addicting, compelling, and you’re afraid that eventually you’re not going to be able to keep yourself from going for killshots. You’ve managed to keep the demon-hunters off your back, mainly because you yourself used to be one, and you know all of their tricks. But one random encounter with a demon known as Karkat Vantas, and now you’re stuck as the thing you once hated. 

That very same demon has been following you. After your showdown with the police you quickly climbed to the roofs to sprint away. You noticed him a couple of blocks back, but you’re in no rush to start the conversation. If he wants to talk to you, let him be the one to make the first move. You pick up your pace, leading him on a merry chase. You don’t want to return to your hideout with him following-- who knows what he’ll do to Dirk?-- so instead you run in a big circle, waiting for him to catch up. You feel him grab your ankle before you hear his words, and you stop to avoid falling.  
“Dave.” Karkat started.  
“Hmm?” You asked, not turning to face him.  
“How long are you gonna ignore me, you obtuse asshole?” He asks.  
“Bout the same amount of time as it’ll take for you to realize that I’m not interested in anything you have to offer me.” You reply.  
“Even the cure for your condition?” He offered. You fell silent, and he moved to sit next to you, taking your silence as a victory.  
“There is a cure. But it’s in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, in a hellish place called Alternia. You in?” He asks. You pretend to consider it, but you already know that you’re going and so does he, the righteous prick that he is.  
“If this is a trick you’re dead.” You reply.  
“You think that I’d make something as important as this up? You must be the dumbest sack of shit on this pisspoor excuse of a planet.” He replies, as verbose as always.  
“How do we get to Alteranal?” You ask, mainly just to piss him off. And by the way that he rounds on you, you know that it worked.  
“We get to Alternia via the demon portal. Y’know, the one that you and your brother opened a week ago?” He answered.  
“Oh, you mean the one that we forced shut two days ago after finding out that we let you in?” You asked him mockingly. His eyes widen, before he scowls and looks away from you. “Of course you did. Oblivious fucks, what, did you assume I would have my own way back?”  
“Well, yeah, you’re a fucking demon.”  
“Congrats on pointing out that extremely obvious fact, fucknut. In case you haven’t realized, so are you.” He said, shutting you up for a second.  
“How are we gonna get to Alternia?” You ask, after a moment of silence.  
“Easy. We go to your base, open up another portal, and have Dirk make sure that no other demons slip through.” He replied, as if he had already planned it all. He probably has, the bastard. You raise a hand.  
“One problem with that. Dirk will likely attempt to kill us on sight if he sees the both of us. He’ll assume that I’ve been fully turned, as I told him that I would never willingly associate with demons.” You say with a grimace.  
“Fine.” He pauses to think. “You go in and help Dirk make the portal, and then I’ll jump through as if I was waiting for a chance to go back.” You hum noncommittally, considering the plan.  
“That actually has the makings of a decent plan, I’m surprised. Here I thought you were unable to string together more than a few minutes worth of thoughts.” You replied snarkily. He just slaps a hand to his face, before reaching out with the same hand and flipping you off.  
“Tomorrow. I’ll open a portal tomorrow.” You say with finality, before leaping off the roof and continuing towards your base. And when you turn around, he doesn’t follow.

You rouse yourself from your sleep, staying dead still, waiting for an attack that doesn’t come. You’ve become understandably paranoid since becoming a demon, since your brother is still a hunter, and if you ever show any signs of being aggressive, will kill you on sight. It’s reassuring, but also terrifying. When you brought up your plan, he sighed and had walked off, which had left you worried. But you had decided to not confront him, instead choosing to go sleep, as you would need the rest if you were actually going to follow through with this bananas plan. It’s not like you were ever not gonna follow that insufferable prick that turned you, but there’s no need to make it easy for him. Also, you just wanted to be normal again. But, according to Karkat, the only way is on Alternia. You are so willing to traverse the land of the demons if it meant that you’d be able to lead a normal life-- as normal as yours would be as a hunter. Besides, you’re committed, as funny as it would be to not open the portal to see Karkat’s reaction. You had promised him a way home and he had promised you a way to be human again. Even if you were understandably suspicious about it, you were still taking the chance, hoping that Karkat isn’t a lying sack of shit. 

Dirk was already up and about when you finally pulled yourself out of bed. He had most of the preparation for the portal done, and he was just waiting for you to finish the next steps, as one of the catalysts is demon blood. Who even knows how the first demon made it to Earth, but for whatever reason it’s essential to opening a portal. Maybe some demons could teleport? Who knows. You don’t, and it would be useless to dwell any more on this. You slowly make your way to the main room, which is connected to every other room, and it’s where everything happens. Dirk was already there, all of the initial steps already done and the basic shape of the portal already constructed. He was watching you, emotionless as always.  
“Ready?” He asks. You nod, and he gently grabs your hand to prick your finger. He presses the bleeding finger against a rune on the side of the portal, watching it flare to life as it accepts the blood. You hear a screech as Karkat breaks through a window, diving straight through the portal, exactly according to plan.  
“Keep it open until I get back,” You tell Dirk, reaching for the portal. “And don’t let anything else out.” You finish, pushing your hand through the glowing portal. As soon as your fingers touched it, you could feel the energy flowing through you as you were pulled in, pulled in to end up on Alternia. Where the source of all evil originated. You would have a field day with this if you were a hunter. Karkat was standing, waiting for you to come through, already looking irritable.  
“Took you long enough. I’ve been waiting for five fucking minutes. C’mon, people are gonna come investigate, and if we’re still here like some pandaddled grubfucks then we’re dead. Follow me.” He said quickly, not letting you get a word in as he starts to walk.

“What, no time to sightsee? Not gonna let me get used to the smell of rotting flesh that permeates the air? No chance to investigate this effervescent puddle right here?” You ask mockingly, pointing at said puddle as you pass it. The ground was red, the sky was a dark indigo and there were two moons rising, one pink and one green. You wish that you had brought your camera. These would’ve sold for millions.  
“No, shut your fucking mouth. Do you seriously never stop talking? Like it shouldn’t be possible for this much steaming bullshit to come out of someone’s mouth.” He replied, continuing to walk over the flat field.  
“What can I say? I’m just talented that way. And I can tell that this place is starting to decay, even you, you’re looking grey.” You could feel yourself working up to a rap, which Karkat unfortunately shuts down.  
“No. No fucking rapping my god. You’re gonna make my brain cells commit suicide via bleach. And it’ll all be your fault. Do you want the death of millions to be on you?” He asked.  
“Not even one small battle?” You asked, smirking slightly.  
“No. Just shut your mouth and walk.” Was his reply. You sigh, and decide to just walk for now. There was plenty of time to piss him off later.  
“Where are we even going?” You ask after a short pause.  
“My hive.” He answered.  
“What, you live in a hive? Like a bee?” You ask with a small chuckle.  
“No, you absolute walnut, I live in a hive. It looks like yours but bigger and less architecturally sound.” He replied, as if it should be obvious.  
“I swear if you’re just leading me on so that you and your hive can feast on me I’m gonna be pissed.” He groans at this.  
“Why are you so fucking infuriating?” He asked, turning to glare at you. You smile charmingly back.  
“It’s just my natural Strider charm. It’s irresistible.” You inform him. He groans again, turning back around to keep walking.  
“You’re such a jackass, how does anyone put up with it?” He asked, sounding almost genuine with his curiosity.  
“Not everyone is as sensitive as you, they can handle all my swag.” Saying that may have made you cringe but it was so worth it to see the look of anger on his face, and to hear the wordless growl of anger.  
“Shut the fuck up, seriously.” He said, voice full of anger.  
“Alright man, you just had to ask.” You reply, before miming a zipper and shutting your mouth. You could see him start to relax as he scanned the horizon, the outline of some buildings starting to be visible through the fair darkness.  
“My place is right up ahead.” He said, and wow it wasn’t a shout, he was really changing. You don’t answer, as he had told you to stop talking. You see him glance back a couple of times, completely baffled by your silence. You both let it drag on, even as you arrive at the hive he was aiming for, walking in silently.


End file.
